Eric Mann's Blog

  • The Anatomy of an Exploit

    I’m a huge fan of security. I spend many a weekend experimenting with new encryption techniques, hash algorithms, and security protocols. As a result, I also come across several different server exploits in the wild. PHP hacks, [cci].htaccess[/cci] hacks, JavaScript injection, etc. I once even saw a server hacked through a corrupt PNG image that […]

  • Goodbye, My Friend

    I lost one of my best friends last weekend. Aaron Renner was one of the best men I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. He will be missed.

  • Self-Confidence

    Lacking self-confidence is dangerous, and over-confidence can cost your life. Both rock climbers and programmers should know their limits.

  • Doing it Wrong the Right Way

    Telling someone there’s a right way to include a plugin in a theme is like telling someone there’s a right way to cheer for the Beavers during the Oregon Civil War. There is no right way. However, there are still ways to do it if you absolutely need to. Let’s admit it. As developers, we’re lazy. […]

  • Why Sponsor WordCamp Portland

    This August, I’ll be attending WordCamp Portland. I’ll also be speaking at WordCamp Portland. Last week, I also decided to sponsor WordCamp Portland. Why all the investment?  It’s simple.  I love Portland.  I love WordPress.  And I have a blast spending money on the things that I love.

  • Courage and Prayer

    I cried in church this week. If you know me very well you also know that me crying, particular in public, is a rare occurrence.  My only consolation is the fact that I wasn’t the only in the congregation with damp eyes. We are deep in a series on Paul’s letter to the Philippians – after over […]

  • Universal User Support

    Yesterday, my news feed included an article about a particular retailer’s proposed tax on IE7 users. The first article made it sound like a good idea – users checking using an older browser faced an added 6.8% “tax” meant to address the additional effort required to support the older system. I was constantly on the […]

  • Merging WordPress Multisite

    When I first set up my personal website network, I got a bit carried away.  Once I had the first two sites in a multisite network, I started splitting out every category of my blog into its own site – each with its own domain. At the peak, I had: One site for my personal […]

  • How to Contribute to WordPress Core

    My first ever contribution to WordPress was trimming whitespace from keys stored in the WordPress options table. Basically, I removed a space. But since then, I’ve contributed quite a few other patches to the project I love.  Eleven of them have actually made it in to the core codebase! At the Portland WordPress User Group […]

  • Classy Plugins

    I was asked a few weeks ago why I structured my WordPress plugins the way I do. Anyone who has spent any time looking at my code knows that I like to keep my main functions in a class and wire up action hooks and filters in the root of the plugin.  But few people […]